Friends of PUL Small Talk with Simon Morrison: "Tchaikovsky: Imperial Composer"
From an inauspicious childhood in a Ural Mountain mining town, Tchaikovsky grew up to become one of the most known composers of the Russian Empire. How? And what made his career outstanding? In part, good fortune: interest in his music from civic officials, Slavophile ideologues, Tsar Alexander III and his court in St Petersburg.
Join the Friends of Princeton University Library and Professor Simon Morrison as he details how Tchaikovsky became an imperial composer, borrowing from and contributing to the musical traditions of Ukraine, Poland and Georgia. But he wasn’t a nationalist: His “Russia” was cosmopolitan, encompassing the music and culture of France, Germany, Italy and Scandinavia. His “Russia” pursued the beautiful, while "the real Russia" – the Russia of conquests, subjugations, and expulsions – did not. The Russia of the composer existed only in his art.
Current Friends of PUL members are invited to attend in person. Dress code for The Nassau Club is business casual.
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The presentation will also be available by Zoom for non-members.
Regisration is required. Please select the appropriate registration type below. Due to limited capacity, membership status will be checked after registration.
- Date:
- Wednesday, March 19, 2025
- Time:
- 4:00pm - 5:00pm
- Location:
- The Nassau Club, 6 Mercer Street, Princeton, NJ 08540
- Audience:
- Friends of Princeton University Library Student Friends of Princeton University Library
- Categories:
- Friends of the Princeton University Library Event
Simon Morrison
Simon Morrison is a Professor of Music and Slavic Languages and Literatures at Princeton University. He has written numerous books on subjects ranging from Prokofiev and Russian opera to Roxy Music and Stevie Nicks. His latest book is Tchaikovsky's Empire: A New Life of Russia's Greatest Composer (Yale University Press, 2024). His history of Moscow is forthcoming from Random House.
This event is part of the Friends of the Princeton University Library Small Talks Series.
View recordings of previous events.
Join the Friends of the Princeton University Library. Friends receive a newsletter, two issues of the Princeton University Library Chronicle, and are invited to participate in a variety of activities and events, including exhibition openings, lectures and talks, gala dinners, workshops on topics such as preservation, bookbinding, and print collecting.
To request disability-related accommodations for this event, please contact pulcomm@princeton.edu at least 3 working days in advance.